Welt mechanism for full-fashioned-knitting machines



Sept. 11, 1928. 1,683,698

W. D. RICHTER WELT MECHANISM FOR FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES Filed June 21., 1927 s Sheets-Sheet 1 V Mayan 0.]Zicbier,

Airlys.

Sept. 11, 1928.

w. D. RICHTER WELT MECHANISM FOR FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 21, 1927 Inveni'or: W01 22g .D.Rihier;

Sept. 11, 1928. 1,683,698

W. D. RICHTER WELT MECHANISM FOR FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES Filed June 21, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Sept. 11, 1928.

UNITED STATES WOIJGANG D. RICHTER, OI PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

WET EOE FULL-IASHION ED-KNIT'IING IACHINEB.

Application fled June 21, 1927. Serial No. 200,488.

The invention is designed to facilitate the. formation of welts on a full fashioned hosiery machine of the cotton type by reducing the amount of manual manipulation of the welt bars and to utilize an improved form of welt hook member whereby theoperation is simplified, and whereby also certain automatic actions can take place simultaneously 'throughout the entire set of sections or heads, thus materially reducing the time and labor ordinarily expended in performing certain hand operations for the formation of the welt, which hand operations, in com- .mon practice, take place seriatum through out the whole set of sections or heads of the machine, and while the machine-is otherwise operator throughout the whole set of sections instead of individually as is common practice today.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification Figure l is a front view-of the upper portion of two sections or heads of a cotton frame with my improvement attached, and with welt loars held by the cradle frames.

Fig. 2-is an end View of the improved Welt har. I

Fig. 3 is a vies of one of the intermediate welt hooks.

Fig. 3 shows the welt hook as to the knee.

Fig. 4 is a plan View of the two kinds of welt hooks which alternate in position with each other along the Welt bar.

Fig. 4 is a front edge view of her. Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken across a toll fashioned knitting machine of the cotton type with my improvements embodied therein. I r

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of part of the narrowing frame, showing the weltbar in two forms.

the welt placed in ihitial position engaging the first course of loops Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10, 1Q, 11, 11, 12 and 13 are yiews similar to Fig. 6 showing the elements in various relative positions assumed by thelitn in the turning and formation of the we Fig. 14 is a view of the cradle frame in idle position.

In carrying out my invention, I employ a welt turning implement in which the loop engaging hooks and the eyes or grooves for receiving the needles are all located on they members in definitely determining the location of the loops, it being understood that any tendency for a loop to ride over the hump in the Welt turning operation will be resisted by the adjacent loop on the straight intermediate member.

My invention includes in addition to this new form of welt turning bar, means by which the whole series of bars can be manipulated simultaneously in connection with their respective sets of needles at the different sections or heads of the machine. This means includes a series of cradle frames 4- for supporting welt hers and moving them simultaneously to cooperate with the needles for transferring the loops thereto.

The invention includes other features as will he described hereinafter and pointed out in the claims.

In the operation of the invention a loose course is first formed on the needles. Then the welt bar is placed in position as in Fig.

6 to engage the sinker loops as in ordinary practicewith the hooks 1 on the upper side of the welt bar, it being noted, however, that in my improvement, contrary to usual construction, the eye or groove 2 of the hook member is on the upper side instead of on the lower side of the welt hook member.

The welt bar in the position just described contacts at its inner edgewith the downwardly extending projections 3 of the cradle frame 4. This rame is fixed to a rod or turnable shaft 5 under tension of a spring 6 tending to swing it forwardly. This tendency, however, is-resisted at this stage of the operation because catches 7 on the bar 8 engage pins 9 on the cradle frame and hold the said cradle frame against forward or outward movement.

After all the welt bars have been placed in the position just mentioned with their hooks engaging the loops at the respective sections or heads of the machine, then the catches 7 are released, all simultaneously, by turning the rod or shaft 8 so that the cradle frames at the respective sections are all freed and are then under tension of the spring 6 which now exerts turning force on the rod or shaft 5 to which the arms of the cradle frames are rigidly attached. Each cradle frame now exerts tension on the welt bar placed adjacent it and in contact with its projections 3 thereof and this tension tends to move the welt bar leftward Fig. 6. The machine now can be started and courses are formed, the welt bars receding or moving towards the front of the machine and away from the vertical needles as the courses are formed because of the pressure exerted forwardly by the cradle frames against said bars. This action will be clear by comparing Figs. 6 and 7 The cradle frames can continue to exert this fabric take-up pressure under the action of the spring 6 for enough courses to make say a one inch or more length of fabric. As the welt bars recede from the needles under the pressure of the cradle frames they move along suitable guide or supporting rods placed across the table at the top of the machine as in ordinary practice and as well known to those versed in the operation of this type of machine, During the recession of the welt bars step by step as the courses are being formed, the operator has time enough to attach the usual elastic straps 10 Fig. 8 to the welt barsalong the entire length of the machine. Ordinarily this action of attaching the elastic straps to. the welt bars takes place while the machine is idle and no courses are being formed and this occasions considerable expenditure of time duringwhich there is no product on of.

fabric taking place, the operator having to go from section to section and attach the elastic strap at each section individually. In my apparatus this attaching of the straps takes place while the welt bars are still within the range of action of the cradle frames which can swing forwardly for a considerable distance-and still exert take-up pressure upon the welt bars. Thus a considerable number of courses can be formed while the welt bars are under the influence of the spring pressed cradle frame and ample time is given for the operator to attach the elastic straps to the welt bars so that these straps will be ready to take the place of the cradle frames as a means for exerting takeup tension upon the welt bars. A gain of a considerable number of courses is thus effected at each section of the machine, and as there are say twelve heads with two sets of fabric producing elements at each head, the aggregate increase in production over the or mary method of operation is material.

After the elastic straps are attached to the welt bar as in Fig. 8 the take-up tension supplied to the welt bars by the cradle frames is no longer needed and therefore the cradle frames are pressed back all simultaneously, as they are all hung from the same rotary rod 5, and they are held in their rear or pressed back position by the catches 7 of the bar 8, which catches engage the projections 9 of the cradle frames as before mentioned.

There may be two of these catches for each cradle frame.

After the straps are attached and the cradle frames have been pushed back and locked, the machine continues the formation of courses until the desired length of fabric is produced for the turning of the welt. The needle bar is now moved forward carrying the vert cal needles from the knock over bits i. e. from the position shown in Fig. 8 to the position shown in Fig. 9, whereupon the needle bar moves downward and then inward to carry the end fabric loops (.11) to a position below the knock over bits and the needles themselves are now positioned with their noses between the knock over bits, see Fig. 10. In arriving at this position of the parts shown in Fig. 10 from the position shown in Fig. 9 the machine is turned backwards.

The elastic straps are unhookcd from the welt bars and said bars are turned by hand from the position shown in Fig. 9 to the position shown in Fig, 10, in which position the'welt hooks have been moved through the loops.

The loops are by this action changed in position from the hooks of the welt implements onto the stems thereof and against the knees l1 and in rear of the groove or eye 2 in the said stems.

Previous to turning the welt bar an elastic strap holding welt rod 12 was placed, as in ordinary practice, on the upper side of the fabric which is to be turned for the formation of the welt. This bar in the subsequent knitting operation places tension upon the fabric.

The welt bar is now placed in the cradle frame see Fig. 11 with its ends 13 Figs. 1 and 4 held in position by the spring arms or clips 14 extending upwardly from the rests or ledges 15 upon which the welt bar is supported. The position of the welt bar as thus placed in determined and insured as to III) v, accurac by endshoulders at 13 on the welt bar fitting against the adjacent sides of the depending arms 4 of the cradle frame, see Fig. 1. This position is such that the welt hooks will be in accurate alignment with the needles with which they are to cooperate. The cradle frame is now lowered so that the welt hooks enter between the knock over bits and the grooves of the'stems of the hooks come over the upper ends of the needles-as shown in Figs. 11 and 11, which needles as stated above have been moved forwardly, downwardly and rearwardly so that their upper ends lie between the knock over bits and their fabric loops 4v are below the said knock over bits having been carried down by the friction of the downwardly moving needle. 4

The line of fabric loops is now below the plane in which the welt hooks are located so that there is no danger of the hooks engaging these loops or the fabric.

lhe sinkers now move forward from the position shown in full lines Figs. 11 and 11, to the position shown in dotted lines and thus arrive in position abovethe loops on the welt lingers. The needle and ,welt hook are now in the relative position shown in Fig. 11 with the nose of the needle pressing against the bottom of the groove or eye 2 of the stem of the hook.

It will be noted also that at this time the loop on the welt finger or member is located just below the knee 11. That is to say, the

knee overlies the loop and has determined its position so that the sinker can get in position i above the line of loops by advancing to the dotted line position Figs. 11 and 11. After assuming this position the welt hook and the needle both move upwardly in unison and the needles pass through the loops which are now held against upward displacement by the overlying sinker. The welt hook has raised with the needle to the point where the loop is below the needle beard and the operation of transferring the loop from the welt hook onto the needle is thus completed.

In the actionjust described the welt hook 1 lies at the back of the needle, at the widest part of the needle stem. The welt hook is thus shielded by the needle and its safe passage upward through the loop is insured. The welt hook is now outside the welt loop and the needle stem now carries two loops i. e. the fabric loop at and the loop y, both of which will be cast ofi' into the fabric at the next knitting operation and the work of forming the fabric of the leg will now be proceeded with as in ordinary practice.

It will be noted from Figs. 11 and 11 that when the needle receives the loop from the welt hook the fabric loop as is still below the knock over bit, and in order to knit this loop into the fabric it must be disposed at a point above the knock over bit. For getting The needles and welt bar now rise and the friction of their stems on the loops 0: causes the stems to carry the loops.

a: up to a level above the knock over bits as seen in Fig. 13, and the needle now having moved back again to the right to normal position between the knock over bits and both loops w and g are above said knock-over bits ready to be cast off at the next knitting operation.

Previous to proceeding with the regular knitting, however the cradle frames as a set are swung up by hand to a position out of the way where they remain during the knitting of the remainder of the stocking leg, and until the next welt is to be performed. All the cradle frames are swung up by one act on the part of the operator. all of said frames being mounted on the same rod 5 and moving 1n unison either up or down when the operator applies force by hand to said frame at any point along the machine. When swung to its upper position see Fig. 1d the cradle frame turns through an arc of approximately 180 so that the ledge or rest 16 now faces upwardly in horizontal position instead of downwardly. /Vhen the cradle frames are lifted the welt bars naturally go with them and when a certain point in the upward swing is reached the welt bars will slide by gravity out of 'engagement with the spring clips 14.- and as the upward movement of the cradle frame continues the bars will slide relative to said cradle frames until they will finally rest on the ledges 16 and they will thus be in position out of the way during regular knitting, yet accessible to the hand of the operator who picks them up from these ledges when the next welt is to be formed.

It will be noticed that the cooperative relation between the welt hooks and the needles takes place between the knock-over bits. This insures proper engagement of these parts, the knock-over bits furnishing side walls to the spaces in which the needles and welt hooks connect with each other.

It will be seen also that the welt hook is at the back of the thick part of the needle which thus prevents the welt book from engaging with the loop. ln other words the needle lies between the loop and the welt hook so that the said hook can be readily withdrawn from the loop.

The cradle frame is carried by the well known narrowin apparatus of the machine indicated genera ly at 17 and is given the requisite movements to operate the cradle cam shaft.

line with cams; for giving the parts these special movements (see the shiftable forks indicated at 18-19 Fig. 5). These same rollers when not shifted but in regular working position are operated by the ordinary cams for giving the parts their regular movements.

The cradles are suspended from the u perbar 20 of the narrowing apparatus an for giving the cradle the movements upwardly and downwardly necessary to carry out the operation above described, the narrowing mechanism is given the necessary movement by a cam on the cam shaft. The narrowing apparatus is operated as in usual practice to perform the narrowing operation by a link L, a lever m operated by a cam through a roller n. Now in order to give the narrowing apparatus the special movement to carry out the present invention the roller 11. is shiftable axially into line with another cam which will give the desired movement.

This special cam is shown at Z, Fig. 5. It has a high point e which. through roller a, lever m. and link Z raises the narrowing frame to the position at which the welt bars are inserted in the cradle frames, as indicated in Fig. 5. f indicates the low point on this cam to bring the welt bar down with the eyes or grooves in the hooked member of the welt bar to receive the upper ends of the needles. The needle bar and the narrowing apparatus rise together and when the point 7 of cam Z comes into action, the transfer of loops is completed and the cradle frame now can be thrown up to idle position to carry the welt bar with it, where it remains as shown in Fig. 14 until the next stocking is to be knit.

The needle bar N is given up and down movement by a bell crank lever 0 from a roller 79 operated by the ordinary needle bar cam indicated at 11..

For giving the needle bar its forward and backward movements to carry out the new action involved in this invention, the presser cam P is employed. This cam has three points of importance. The low point 0, throws the needle bar out into the position shown in Fig. 9, preliminary to locating the loops on said needle below the knock-over bit. For this purpose the roller cooperates with this cam when shifted into line therewith. Said roller is carried b pivoted lever g, which is connected with t e needle bar through link 1*, and the depending arm r. The next point is the high point C, which brings the needles, when lowered, to the position shown in Figs. 5 and 10, i. e., with their upper ends between the knock-over bits,

in position to allow the setting of the welt bar in the cradle frame with its hook member's above and in front of the needles, Fig. 10. The next point is c' on said presser cam-P, which throws the needle out again and presses the needle against the welt instrument which has been lowered into position as shown in Figs. 11 and 11, and into the groove-or eyethereof. The needle bar now goes up with the welt implement and the loops get below the beard. The point (1 on the presser cam next comes into action, moving the needle bar with the needles outwardly as shown in Fig. 12, and the loop as is now carried up by the friction of the needle stem above the plane of the knock-over bit, whereupon the point al comes into action and the needle is moved inwardly to locate loop a: above the knock-over bit, thus bringin the fabric to its original position and the knitting of the stocking leg now can be carried on.

' The rollers n and g are shiftable into line with the special cams Z and P by forks 19 which may be operated in the direction of the axes of these rolls in any suitable manner. For instance, such forks may be mouned on a rod w which is suitably mounted and is shiftable in the direction of its axis.

For convenience of illustration, the springs 14 are shown as en a ing the body of the welt bar.

I claim:

1. A welt turning implement for full fashioned knitting machines having hooks for engaging the loops, and grooves or eyes adapted for receiving the nose of the needles all on the upper side of said implement, substantially as described.

2. A welt turning implement for full fashioned knitting machlnes having terminal hooks, for engaging the loop, grooves or eyes adapted for receiving the nose of the needles and bumps for positioning the loops, said hooks and eyes being located on the upper side of said implement, substantially as described.

3. A welt turning implement for full fashioned knitting machines having upwardly facing hooks and upwardly facing needle receiving grooves or eyes and loop positioning humps, said stems alternating with other stems having similar hooks and eyes but no humps, substantially as described.

4. A welt turning mechanism for full fashioned machines comprising in combination welt bars having members each with a hook to engage the loop, and an eye in the stem of the member back of the hook and on the same side of the member with the hook, a frame for receiving and removably supporting all the said welt bars, said frames presenting said welt bars to the needles initially with the hooks of said welt eases nose of the needles,,and means for 'operating the said frames and needles to effect the transfer of loops to the needles,'substantially as described. a

5. In combination with welt bars hav ng hooked members with eyes on the upper s de thereof tension straps, frames underxsprmg tension for applying a take-up tension to the said welt bars while a number of courses are being knit, and while saidtension straps are bein attached, saidirames being adapted for olding- 'said bars, and presenting the hooked members to the needles with the hooks at the back of the needles and the eyes receiving said needles, and thereafter having movement to ether with the needles for transferring t e loops from the hooked members onto the needles, substantially as described.

6. In combination in a full fashioned knitting machine, welt bars having hooked members for engaging the loo s, supports for receiving and removablg olding the welt bars after the prescri ed length of fabric has been knit for the welt, said supports being connected with the narrowing apparatus of the machine, said narrowing apparatus having movement with said supports to present the hooks to the needles for the transfer of loops by the subsequent co-related movement of said parts in cooperation.

with the sinkers, substantially as described. 7. In combination in a full fashioned knitting machine, a series of welt bars, one

for each section, supports for said welt bars .to present the llOOKBd elements thereof to the needles for transfer of loops, said supports being under spring tension, and applying take-up tension to the-welt bars while a series of courses are being knit and before said welt bars are placed 'on said supports, substantially as described.

8. A full fashioned knitting machine according to claim 7, having means for retaining the spring pressed supports in position to present the welt bars to the needles, substantially as described.

9. In combination in a full fashioned knitting machine, welt bars having hooks, supports for said welt bars pivotally mounted and under s ring tension to apply takeu tension to t e welt bars while a number 0 initial courses are being knit for the welt,

' means for looking said supports in retracted position and means for moving said .supports to present the welt bars to the needles for the transfer of loops thereto, substantially as described.

10. In a full fashioned knitting machine according to claim 9, the means for mounting and moving the pivoted supports consisting of a part of the narrowing apparatus, substantially as described.

11. In a full fashioned knitting mach' welt bars, frames pivotally mounted, an biased to move outwardly-from the needles and engaging the welt bars to apply takeup tension thereto, during theknittin'g of the welt courses, said frames being adapted to support 'the welt'bars during transfer of loops and from which frames saidwelt bars are removable substantially as described.

12. In combination in a full fashioned knitting machine, welt bars having hooks to engage the loops, frames applying take-- up tension to said bars during the knitt' of the'welt courses and for hplding the welt bars to present them to the needles for transfer of loops thereto, said frame being pivotally mounted to be swung to idle'position and adapted to hold the welt bars, when idle, removably in position readily accessible to the hand of the operator, substantially as described.

. 13. A full fashioned knitting machine according to claim 1-2 in which the pivoted frame is carried by the narrowing apparatus and is operated thereby to and from the needles, substantially as described.

14. In a full fashioned knitting machine .and in combination needles which are hook members and needles being moved upwardly to remove the hooks from the loops, and to pass the needle beards through the loops, substantially as described.

15. Afull fashioned knitting machine according to claim 14 in which the engagement of the hooked members with the needles takes place between the knock over bits, substantially as described.

16. The hereindescribed method of turning a welt on full fashioned stockingsconsisting in connecting by hand welt bar hooks with the loops of the first course, applying tension to the whole series of welt bars simultaneously throughout the length of the machine during the knitting oi? the welt courses, thereafter placing by hand said welt bars carrying the loops in prescribed relation to their respective sets of needles, holding the loops of the hooked members at one level lllii llu lib

disengage the hooked members from the loops, substantially as described.

17-. The hereindescribed method of turningla welt on' full fashioned knittin machines consisting in attaching welt bar ooks to the initial 100 s, moving the needles to carry said loops elow the knock over bits, after the prescribed number of courses have been knit, placing all the welt bars for all sections or heads of the machine in their prescribed relation to the needles, holding the loops on the welt hooked members at one level by sinkers and above the knock over bits, moving all the welt bars and all the sets of needles simultaneously and similarly to pass the needle beards through the said loops and withdraw the hooked members from said loops, then moving the needles to carry fabric loops from below the knock over bits to a position above said knock over bits and adjacent the loops just taken on by said needles, and then proceeding with the knitting of the fabric, substantially as described.

18. The hereindescribed method of turning a welt on full fashioned knittin ma- WOLFGANG D. RICHTER. 

